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On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Joseph P. McDonald manned the switchboard at Fort Shafter in Hawaii when he received the alarming message that radar had detected a large number of planes approaching from the north, heading fast for Oahu.
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Motorists who use the Pango mobile app to pay at parking meters in Scranton will get reimbursed for any inadvertent overcharges since Sept. 1, the new operator of the city’s parking system said.
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WILKES-BARRE — Hugo Selenski’s new lawyer came to court Friday seeking a delay in the accused killer’s trial, but there’s one thing he wanted even more: the massive case file held by Mr. Selenski’s former attorney.

Bernard J. Brown pleaded with Luzerne County Judge Fred A. Pierantoni to postpone the Nov. 12 trial date, saying Mr. Selenski’s former attorney Shelley Centini has refused to hand over the tens of thousands of pages in Mr. Selenski’s file since he was appointed on April 17.

“I want to take this challenge on, but I need the proper time,” Mr. Brown told Judge Pierantoni.

Judge Pierantoni denied Mr. Brown’s request for a continuance, saying he has two fellow attorneys on the defense team, one who has been on the case for nearly two years. The judge issued an order for Ms. Centini to hand over the case file within five days, saying he was “disappointed” Ms. Centini hasn’t complied with Mr. Brown’s requests.

Ms. Centini, who represented Mr. Selenski for two years, was removed from the case earlier this year after she, Mr. Selenski and a defense investigator were indicted on witness tampering charges. A district judge dismissed the cases against Ms. Centini and the investigator on Wednesday, but state prosecutors are considering whether to refile the charges.

Mr. Selenski, who still faces the witness tampering charges in Dauphin County Court, told the judge the file remains protected by attorney/client privilege because Ms. Centini would need it to mount her defense if she is rearrested.

The homicide suspect said Ms. Centini’s attorney, Al Flora Jr., who was in the courtroom, was poised to file an injunction to block his order.

Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce then offered a solution: the commonwealth would provide Mr. Brown with a copy of Mr. Selenski’s case file to avoid further legal wrangling.

Contact the writer:

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

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